During World War II, teenage boys in a small English town are consumed with jingoism and brutal war games, hoping dearly that the war won't end before they can fight in it. John, one of the younger members, is increasingly torn between these peer group values and his deepening homoerotic friendship with Mark, a gentle Jewish refugee whom his gang has ostracized as a sissy and a coward. Based on the novel _The Custard Boys_, by John Rae. Reminiscent of _Lord of the Flies_ in depicting adolescent cruelty growing unchecked to tragic extremes.